cue 
cue 
wards, and allowed to flower; the bed 
should be made immediately over the 
tank before mentioned, and composed of 
light earth, chiefly rotten leaf-mould, 
with a little turfy loam, decayed hot¬ 
bed manure, and sand added thereto. 
The branches of the plants should be 
trained over a trellis, extending from 
the bed to the back wall, at about a foot 
or eighteen inches from the glass, occa¬ 
sionally stopping them in their progress, 
as before directed, to increase the num¬ 
ber of stems and impart strength to 
those already existing. The temperature 
of the house must be kept steadily at 
about 60° for night and 70° or 75° in 
the day, maintaining a degree of hu¬ 
midity in the atmosphere proportionate to 
the state of the weather, as an approach 
to a rule, the edges of the leaves should 
have a slight deposit of dew on them in 
the morning, in gardening terms called 
a £c beading, 5 ’ which must, however, be 
always dried off in the course of the day. 
The ordinary application of water to the 
roots and admission of air must receive 
attention, being regulated by the exter¬ 
nal atmosphere; and in fine weather a 
slight sprinkling of water from the 
syringe over the leaves will be bene¬ 
ficial ; and it must be borne in mind 
that all the flowers will require artificial 
impregnation at this season. By con¬ 
tinuing this management, fruit will be 
obtained throughout the season, till the 
plants are exhausted in the following 
summer. 
The second period of forcing or spring 
growth of the Cucumber usually com¬ 
mences in January, and is the most ge¬ 
nerally adopted course of culture. Pits 
heated by dung or hot water, or the 
common hot-bed frame, may then be 
applied; the former are decidedly pre¬ 
ferable, especially when fitted with a 
heating apparatus, as their management 
is then rendered more certain, and the 
result is in most cases more satisfac¬ 
tory. The management is then nearly 
the same as that just described, and the 
soil, manipulation, and temperature being 
the same in every case ; where the heat 
obtainable from fermenting st able-dungis 
all that can be depended on, considerable 1 
trouble and risk arises from its uncer¬ 
tain action, and it becomes necessary to 
have constantly a quantity in reserve, 
in a proper state for use, lest the heat 
of beds suddenly decline. In making a 
hot-bed for Cucumbers, the material 
should be previously turned and well 
shaken, that it may heat regularly 
through the mass, and when fit for use 
should be again separated in the course 
of making the bed, and laid evenly over 
it, beating it down moderately with 
the fork as the work proceeds. In 
January and February the bed should 
be made four feet deep, while at a more 
advanced part of the season a smaller 
quantity will suffice ; when made to the 
required size, the frame shoidd be put 
on it, and the lights kept close for a day 
or two, to draw up the heat again; should 
it, however, happen that too much heat 
and rank steam is generated, it will be 
necessary to wait till it subsides, or to 
pull the bed down again and make it 
afresh. Considerable care is necessary 
when the plants are first put into the 
bed, lest the strong steam injure them, 
which it will do in an hour. 
Having the first bed ready with a 
mild, steady heat of about 70°, the seed 
may be sown in pots, and in a few days 
they will vegetate ; and, as soon as they 
have attained the perfect seed-leaves, 
they should be potted off separately into 
light soil, and continued in the frame 
till they have two more leaves, which is 
the most proper time for their final 
transplanting. It is usual to make a 
small bed for the express purpose of 
raising the seedling plants, and while 
they are getting ready, to prepare other 
larger or fruiting beds for their recep¬ 
tion. The management of these is the 
same as that already described, and they 
should have the same temperature at 
the time the young plants have attained 
their rough leaves; a ridge of soil, of 
similar nature to that mentioned for the 
cucumber-house, should then be laid 
along the middle of the beds, and when 
it is warmed through, the plants may be 
turned into it; one plant under each 
light is sufficient, though some prefer to 
put three close to each other. In a 
